Lecture 27

Writing Argumentative Essays

Review of Lecture 26

• In lecture 26, we learnt how to– Ask others’ opinions and state your own– Politely agree or disagree with other’s opinion– Use polite expressions of interrupting– Give pros and cons of a debatable topic

Objectives of Lecture 27

• After completing lecture 27, you should be able to– Identify and analyze an argumentative essay– Differentiate between a debatable and non-

debatable statement– Organize your ideas– Use expressions of supporting / refuting ideas– Write a short five-paragraph argumentative essay

What is an Argumentative Essay?

An argumentative essay is similar to a persuasive essay, in which you set out to persuade the reader to agree with your position on a topic. You make a thesis statement and use facts, data, and other evidence to prove why your thesis is correct and logical.

Debatable or Non-debatable

• Debatable statements are statements with which other people might or might not agree . These are sometimes called "arguments", "assertions", "propositions" or "premises".– Solar energy is the best way of solving Pakistan’s energy crisis.

• Non-debatable statements are statements with which no-one would normally disagree or argue. These are sometimes called "facts". – Major crops of Pakistan include wheat, sugarcane, cotton and

rice.

Task 1• Which of the following statements are debatable and which are non-debatable?

1. Computer and automation increase unemployment.debatable

2. Plants produce oxygen that the world needs to sustain life.non-debatable

3. Injustice and poverty are the root cause of terrorism.debatable

4. Nanga Parbat has claimed the lives of many mountaineers. non-debatable

5. Education is essential for successful life.debatable

6. Education plays important role in advancing ones’ career goals. non-debatable

7. Technology has made our life convenient.non-debatable

Task 2

• Write one debatable and one non-debatable statement about the following topics.– Mobile Phones– Democracy– Science– Public Transport– Corruption– Poverty

Five-Paragraph FormulaPattern 1: Thesis statement: PRO idea 1 PRO idea 2 CON(s) + Refutation(s) Conclusion Pattern 2:

Thesis statement: CON(s) + Refutation(s) PRO idea 1 PRO idea 2 Conclusion Pattern 3: Thesis statement: CON idea 1 -----> Refutation CON idea 2 -----> Refutation CON idea 3 -----> Refutation Conclusion

Thesis Statement

• A thesis statement is a statement in an essay that you plan to support, discuss or prove.

• Characteristics of a Thesis Statement – Only one topic (your subject) + your comment

(point of view) – At least one verb – A focus narrow enough that it can be developed in

the assigned length of the essay (e.g. 750 words) – NOT a simple announcement

Developing a Thesis Statement • First, you need a topic Example: Drug Use ( This subject is too broad for an essay of 750 or 1000 words, so you need to narrow the focus to a specific aspect of drug use. • First attempt at a thesis statement: Bad Drug Use (this is still too broad a

topic).• Second attempt: Drug use is detrimental to society. (this is not an idea

presented in debatable form. Most people would agree with this statement.)

• Third attempt: Illegal drug use is detrimental to society because it encourages gang violence. (the statement has a clearly focused topic and a debatable opinion. The topic of drug use has been narrowed down to illegal drugs and the detriment has been narrowed down to gang violence. This is a much more manageable topic. This narrower topic will allow you to support your point of view and offer your own conclusion on the issue).

Not a Thesis Statement!

• A thesis statement is not– A word or phrase

• Youth• Violence in Cities

– A personal preference• T. S. Eliot is the best American poet.

– A question• How can we check extremism in Pakistan?• Does smoking lead to other drugs?

– A fact• Water is in short supply in the Middle East.

– A mere announcement• I’m going to write about the tourist attractions in Pakistan.

Examples of Thesis Statement

1. All athletes should be required to take a drug test before any sporting event to ensure equal competitive opportunity for all competitors.

2. The most effective way to decrease Youth Violence is to eliminate all violent video games.

3. Electric cars provide a viable alternative to gasoline-fueled cars because the benefits outweigh the costs.

4. There should be an absolute ban against smoking in public because secondhand smoke endangers the health of non-smokers.

Sample Argumentative Essay

HEALTH AND HEALING AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Throw out the bottles and boxes of drugs in your house. A new theory suggests that medicine could be bad for your health, which should at least come as good news to people who cannot afford to buy expensive medicine. However, it is a blow to the medicine industry, and an even bigger blow to our confidence in the progress of science. This new theory argues that healing is at our fingertips: we can be healthy by doing Reiki on a regular basis.

Supporters of medical treatment argue that medicine should be trusted since it is effective and scientifically proven. They say that there is no need for spiritual methods such as Reiki, Yoga, Tai Chi. These waste our time, something which is quite precious in our material world. There is medicine that can kill our pain, x-rays that show us our fractured bones or MRI that scans our brain for tumors. We must admit that these methods are very effective in the examples that they provide. However, there are some “every day complaints” such as back pains, headaches, insomnia, which are treated currently with medicine. When you have a headache, you take an Aspirin, or Vermidon, when you cannot sleep, you take Xanax without thinking of the side effects of these. When you use these pills for a long period, you become addicted to them; you cannot sleep without them. We pay huge amounts of money and become addicted instead of getting better. How about a safer and more economical way of healing? When doing Reiki to yourself, you do not need anything except your energy so it is very economical. As for its history, it was discovered in Japan in the early 1900s and its popularity has spread particularly throughout America and Western Europe. In quantum physics, energy is recognized as the fundamental substance of which the universe is composed. Reiki depends on the energy within our bodies. It is a simple and effective way of restoring the energy flow. There are no side effects and it is scientifically explained.

Opponents of alternative healing methods also claim that serious illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and cancer cannot be treated without drugs. They think so because these patients spend the rest of their lives in the hospital taking medicine. How can Reiki make these people healthy again? It is very unfortunate that these patients have to live in the hospital losing their hair because of chemotherapy, losing weight because of the side effects of the medicine they take. Actually, it is common knowledge that except for when the cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, drugs also cannot treat AIDS or cancer. Most of the medicine these patients use are to ease their pain and their sufferings because of the medical treatment they undergo. Instead of drugs which are expensive and have many side effects, you can use your energy to overcome the hardships of life, find an emotional balance, leave the stress of everyday life and let go of the everyday worries. Most of the chronic conditions such as eczema or migraine are known to have causes such as poor diet and stress. Deep-rooted anger or other strong emotions can contribute to viral infections as well. Since balancing our emotions and controlling our thoughts are very important for our well-being, we should definitely start learning Reiki and avoid illnesses before it is too late.

Some people may still maintain that in our material world, everything depends on time. It is even “lacking time” that causes much of the stress that leads to the illnesses we mentioned. How would it be possible to find time to do Reiki to ourselves and the people around us when we cannot even find time to go to the theater? This is one good thing about Reiki; it does not require more than 15 minutes of our time. There is no need for changing clothes or special equipment. It is a wonderfully simple healing art, an effective method of relaxation and stress-relief. Most important of all, it is less time consuming than medicine if we think of all the time we spend taking medicine for some complaints and taking some more for the side effects as well.

Having said these, resistance to Reiki would be quite illogical. Reiki is natural and drug-free. What is more, it is easy to learn by anyone, regardless of age and experience. It can be used anywhere, anytime. It also enhances physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being and the benefits last a lifetime. It is definitely high time to get away from the drug boxes we store in our drug cabinet!_______________________________________________________________Written by Oya Ozagac, September 2004

LanguageWhen pointing out opposing arguments (CONs):Opponents of this idea claim / maintain that … Those who disagree / are against these ideas may say / assert that …Some people may disagree with this idea. When stating specifically why they think like that:The put forward this idea because …They claim that … since … Reaching the turning point:However,butOn the other hand,

Language (Cont…)When refuting the opposing idea, we may use the following strategies:• compromise but prove that their argument is not powerful enough:They have a point in thinking like that.To a certain extent they are right. • completely disagree:After seeing this evidence, there is no way we can agree with what they say. • say that their argument is irrelevant to the topic:What we are discussing here is not what they are trying to prove.Their argument is irrelevant.

Practice Situation

• Write an argumentative essay on any one of the following topics:– Students should not be allowed to grade their

teachers.– Our examination system does not measure the

students’ ability– Corporal punishment should be allowed in Primary

schools.– Technology makes us more lonely than social.– Use of military force against Taliban is justified.

Summary of Lecture 27

• In lecture 27, we learnt how to– Identify and analyze an argumentative essay– Differentiate between a debatable and non-

debatable statement– Organize your ideas– Use expressions of supporting / refuting ideas– Write a short five-paragraph argumentative essay